Ep 13 | How To Create A Role That Doesn't Exist | From Art Director -> Creative Strategist ft. Michelle Villasenor

Follow along as I interview Michelle Villasenor about her journey creating an entirely new role for herself as a creative strategist. Michelle has always been what she calls 'left brained / right brained', where she's drawn to experiences and careers that live at the intersection of creative and data. So, when she was working as an Art Director at high-growth e-commerce startups and was receiving creative briefs that always seemed to be lacking the data and insights she felt she needed to do her best work, she decided to try to carve out a new role that historically didn't exist. Over several years, Michelle worked on proving the value of this new role and over time has successfully established herself as a valuable member bridging the gap between creative and growth teams. In this episode, we’ll talk about Michelle's journey building her role as a creative strategist, why empathy is crucial when you are trying to create your own job description, why you need just one person to believe in your idea, and that sometimes you need to just do it - AKA, throw the damn ball. *Correction* - I met Michelle in 2019... but it shows how good of friends we are that we thought we knew each other for an extra two years!! The Informational interview is the show about big career shifts and what they teach us about life. I'm your host, Lauren Fagan: a 30 something millennial, who does not have everything figured out. I believe the most wisdom comes from the people who have taken the biggest risks, and, in today's world, jumping into a brand new career feels like one of the biggest risks you can take. Join me each week as I interview guests who turn their world upside down by taking a sharp left turn in their career that led them down a completely different path.  Connect With Michelle Lauren's Podcast Resources ⁠Descript